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The Panama Perception
or the U.S. restores elected leaders in Panama
Last updated August 9, 2001

Looking for info about archaeopteryx, the reptile-like bird that is covered with feathers? Most pages on the net will tell you how it is a fake created to discredit Christianity. How about fluoridation of water or vaccinations? Most hits are from web pages explaining how these practices are killing people daily. How about the invasion of Panama? The fringe theories abound here too. You will be hard-pressed to find anything other than webpages condemning the US for removing Noriega as dictator and restoring democracy.

There are many conspiracy theories regarding the invasion. One is that it was a practice to see how many people we could eliminate in preparation for the unjust Gulf War, which we somehow already knew was going to happen (this is from the Academy-Award winning Panama Deception) or that Noriega was nobly standing up against U.S. plans to invade Nicaragua/Cuba/Columbia/etc.

Many people were killed in the invasion. It is terrible that innocent civilians, or anyone for that matter, has to die in a war, but it is tough to take over an entire country. I am aware of the murky political realities of Central America and the U.S.'s unfortunate history there. President Carter himself must bear some blame for the whole mess for handing the canal over to a dictatorship with only a promise that constitutional reform and elections would eventually be held. I am certain Carter was assured these guys were on our payroll and could be trusted to follow through with democratic change.

From Britannica.com: After a coup by the National Guard in 1968, the national legislature was suspended, and Panama was administered by a provisional government led by General Omar Torrijos. A new constitution in 1972, the fourth in Panama's history, gave Torrijos virtually complete control over the government but also established an elected body, the National Assembly of Municipal Representatives. The constitution was amended in 1978 to provide for a gradual return to democratic government within six years. Further constitutional amendments were approved in 1983, but democracy did not return to Panama until 1990, following the removal of Torrijos's successor, General Manuel Antonio Noriega Morena.

The "Just Cause" invasion was just. Besides the obvious national security implications of protecting the canal, keep in mind that in the weeks leading up to the invasion, Noriega invalided a fair election (confiscating the ballot boxes) and had his "Dignity Squad" publicly beat the vice-presidential winner bloody in front of TV cameras. Noriega then declared himself President for Life and said a state of war existed with the U.S.

How can the U.S. be to blame when morons like Noriega (and Saddam Hussein) overplay their hands? Should we have continued to support these dictators? What did these guys expect would happen? If Noriega were smart, he would still be getting U.S. aid and dumptrucks of CIA money. As it is, he did everything but send a telegram to the White House asking for military action.

It may not be a scenario that is as morally simplistic as one would like, but the Panama invasion can be defended.